Follow a Kiva lender into the field

If you're a Kiva lender or might become one, and you wonder what it would be like to talk to the people you've empowered through a microloan -- or if you're anyone who'd like to come along on the journey from Peru to Kenya to Cambodia and onward, asking ordinary people about their work, families and dreams...

Two great gifts -- better together. The book entertains your loved ones while sharing the power of a microloan, and the Kiva Card gives them an easy way to empower the lives of others.

"Often humorous… one novel aspect of "Bank of Bob" is the way it follows the money… the low barrier of entry (microfinance loans through Kiva can be as little as $25), and the ability to effect change in the third world countries where small sums go farther, allowed Mr. Harris to be charitable on a significant scale."The New York Times

"Give this book your time. It will pay you back."Joss Whedon

"An important review of the strengths of microlending and its limitations… a fun read… powerful."The Boston Globe

"Push it to the top of the list. Bob Harris is an intellectually curious, self-deprecating, globally competent writer on a quest."Education Week

Kiva Cards introduce your friends and family to Kiva, giving them the opportunity to empower individuals around the world with a microloan. When the loan gets repaid, they can use those same funds again and again to expand their impact. It's truly the gift that keeps giving!

The International Bank of Bob is available at:

More praise for the book:

"No book this important should be this delightful. Bob Harris's funny, tender, and incisive opus works as both an engaging personal memoir and a clear introduction to the world of microfinance. Filled with astonishing anecdotes and indelible characters from those corners of the world most of us never explore, Bank of Bob celebrates a process that is improving the lives of millions through a radically simple concept: moving us past the "virtue of charity" to the exultation of connection. Give this book your time. It will pay you back."

— Joss Whedon, filmmaker, The Avengers

"Surprising in so many ways: a travelogue that makes the people in exotic locales as accessible as your next-door neighbors;a book about poverty alleviation that often makes you laugh out loud (or cry, sometimes on the same page);and a portrayal of loving families in challenging environments that leaves you feeling stronger, more connected to the world, and full of hope. In short: joyous, humane, and inspiring."

— Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief, The Huffington Post Media Group

"Bob Harris shows us how to save the world without being an insufferable prig — The International Bank of Bob is enlightening, inspiring, and entertaining."

— Steven Pinker, Harvard College Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature

"Most travel books promise to transport you to parts of the world you've never seen. This book goes one better: it will take you to places you'd never have the courage to go, to meet people you'd never meet—from a bicycle repairman in the backstreets of Rabat to a pig trader in Tuzla to a barber in Beirut. And it's not even a travel book. It's a quest! Bob Harris goes literally (and literarily) to the ends of the earth in order to see first-hand the effects of his microfinancing loans. A writer with a big heart and a keen eye, Harris's book will make you feel optimistic, inadequate, informed, fortunate, awful, and edified. It may also inspire you to help change the world."

— Hart Hanson, creator, executive producer, and writer, Bones

"Read this book. Be amazed by a man as decent as Bob Harris. Learn how the world works. And be entertained, amused, and enlightened along the way. Seriously. Just by reading a book."

— Arthur Phillips, author of The Tragedy of Arthur

"What a wonderfully uplifting book—proof positive that small things really can have a huge impact. This compassionate travelogue through the world of microfinance not only moves you to count your own blessings, it inpires you to want to make a difference in this world—just like Bob has."

— Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of FlashForward

"Believe it or not—and I know most people don't—there's a moral arc that bends toward justice, and the world really is becoming a better place to live. This is due in part to the spread of democratic institutions from the top down, but the real change is coming from the bottom up from people like Bob Harris and a boots-on-the-ground approach to helping people improve their lives one small loan at a time. This book is not only inspirational, it is illuminating, enlightening, and well, damn funny!"